Handle Structure

ABSTRACT

A hand structure includes a main body, an attachment and an engaging arm. The main body includes a plurality of assembling portions located at opposite ends thereof. The attachment each latched onto one of the assembling portions. The assembling portion includes a plurality of latching members formed thereon. The attachment includes a plurality of inserting plates each having a latching opening formed thereon. The inserting plates are inserted into the assembling portion and whereby the latching members are latched into the latching openings of the inserting plates. The engaging arm is engaged with the assembling portions. The attachment is located between the assembling portion and the engaging arm engaged therewith.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to handle structures, andparticularly to a handle structure applicable to suitcases, luggagedevices and the like.

Conventionally, a handle structure of a suitcase or a luggage deviceincludes a main body and a decorative attachment engaged therewith. Thedecorative attachment usually is a metal product, and the luster andhand feeling of the decorative attachment are different from that of themain body. As a result, an excellent visual effect is given and thus thegrade of handle structure can be raised. In some situations, thedecorative attachment further has a pattern and/or a trademark formedthereon so that an aesthetic feeling can be evoked.

However, the engagement formed between the decorative attachment and themain body for the conventional handle structure is carried out by screwconnection or riveting. In the case of screw connection, the screw headwill be exposed outside of the conventional handle structure and thusthe comfort and beauty are degraded, plus bacteria tends to hide in theposition where the screw head located. While the use of riveting wouldcause inconvenience of the assembly and also degrade the beauty of thehandle structure.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a handle structure,which has a simple configuration as well as convenient assembly.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a handle structure inaccordance with a present embodiment is provided. The hand structureincludes a main body, an attachment and an engaging arms. The main bodyincludes a plurality of assembling portions located at opposite endsthereof. The attachment is latched onto one of the assembling portions.Each assembling portion includes a plurality of latching members formedthereon. The attachment includes a plurality of inserting plates, andeach of the inserting plates has a latching opening formed thereon. Theinserting plates are inserted into the assembling portion and wherebythe latching members are latched into the latching openings of theinserting plates. The engaging arm is engaged with the assemblingportion. The attachment is located between the assembling portion andthe engaging arm engaged with the assembling portion.

Preferably, the assembling portion further includes a plurality ofguiding slots, and the inserting plates are inserted into the guidingslots.

Further preferably, the assembling portion further includes a pluralityof trough limbs formed on sidewalls of each of the guiding slots, andeach of the inserting plates correspondingly has a plurality of limbsformed thereon and mated with the trough limbs.

Still further preferably, the attachment is selected from a metalproduct and a plastic product.

Due to the assembly for the attachment and the main body, in accordancewith the present embodiment, is carried out by allowing the attachmentto be inserted into and latched onto the main body, and thus no need ofthe screw or rivet for assisting the assembly. As a result, the handlestructure would readily achieve a simple configuration as well asconvenient assembly. In addition, the inserting plates are inserted intothe corresponding one of the assembling portions but not exposed tooutside, and therefore handle structure can be endowed with good handfeeling and grip comfort.

Other objectives, features and advantages of the present handlestructure will be further understood from the further technologicalfeatures disclosed by the embodiments of the present handle structurewherein there are shown and described preferred embodiments of thishandle structure, simply by way of illustration of modes best suited tocarry out the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like partsthroughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic, isometric view of a handle structure, inaccordance with a present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic, exploded view of the handle structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partially schematic, isometric view of the handle structureof FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic, partially exploded view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4, but not showing an outer cover layer.

FIG. 6 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is schematic, partial view of an object equipped with the handlestructure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a partially schematic, partially exploded view of a handlestructure, in accordance with another present embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments inwhich the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directionalterminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is usedwith reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. Thecomponents of the present invention can be positioned in a number ofdifferent orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used forpurposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. On the other hand,the drawings are only schematic and the sizes of components may beexaggerated for clarity. It is to be understood that other embodimentsmay be utilized and structural changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a handle structure 100 in accordance with apresent embodiment is provided. The handle structure 100 includes a mainbody 10, a plurality of (e.g., two) attachments 20, an outer cover layer30, a plurality of (e.g., two) engaging arms 40 and a plurality of caps50. The main body 10 usually has an elongated shape and includes aplurality of (e.g., two) assembling portions located at opposite endsthereof. The attachments 20 are respectively latched onto the assemblingportions of the main body 10 after two outer cover layers 30 arecombined to the main body 10. The attachments 20 may be purelydecorative parts or other parts in need. The attachment 20 may be ametal product or a plastic product. The outer cover layer 30 covers themain body 10. The outer cover layer 30 rather suitably is made of amaterial having good hand feeling and grip comfort, which facilitatesthe improvement of the quality of the handle structure 100. The engagingarms 40 are configured (i.e., structured and arranged) for engaging thehandle structure 100 to an object, such as a suitcase, a luggage deviceor the like. Each of the engaging arms 40 can be disposed at a side of acorresponding one of the attachments 20 which faces away from the mainbody 10 and whereby the attachments 20 are respectively located betweenthe main body 10 and the corresponding one of the engaging arms 40. Theengaging arms 40 can be engaged with the main body 10 by screwconnection or other suitable means. The caps 50 each are disposed at aside of a corresponding one of the engaging arms 40 which faces awayfrom the main body 10 and detachably capped on the corresponding one ofengaging arms 40.

Referring to FIGS. 3 through 6, each of the assembling portions of themain body 10 includes a plurality of (e.g., two) guiding slots 11 formedtherein and a plurality of latching members 12. The guiding slots 11substantially extend along an axial direction of the elongated main body10 and are located opposite to each other. The guiding slots 11 can beopen or partly closed slots. The latching members 12 are respectivelyformed on the bottom walls of the guiding slots 11. Each of the latchingmembers 12 can be a resilient tab outwardly extending from the bottomwall of a corresponding one of the guiding slots 11, and each of theassembling portions correspondingly further includes a plurality ofunlatching grooves 14 (as illustrated in FIG. 6) formed in the bottomwalls of the guiding slots 11. The unlatching grooves 14 are adjacent toand matched with the resilient tabs formed on the bottom walls of theguiding slots 11. The unlatching grooves 14 are configured to facilitatethe bouncing action of the resilient tabs. The resilient tabs and themain body 10 can be integrally formed.

Each of the attachments 20 includes a receiving groove 24 formed thereinand a plurality of inserting plates 21. The receiving groove 24 isconfigured for receiving the corresponding one of the assemblingportions and facilitating to assure the engagement stability between theattachment 20 and the main body 10. The inserting plates 21 are axiallyprojected from the attachment 20 and spaced apart from each other. Theinserting plates 21 have a shape and size matched with that of theguiding slots 11 of the corresponding one of the assembling portions.Each of the inserting plates 21 has a latching opening 22 formed thereonand matable with a corresponding one of the latching members 12, so thatthe corresponding one of the latching members 12 can be latched into thelatching opening 22. Preferably, the latching opening 22 is a throughhole, facilitating to push the resilient tab into the unlatching groove14 from a side of the latching opening 22 after the attachment 20 andthe main body 10 is assembled together. Under the pushing action, theresilient tab would be unlatched into the latching opening 22 andthereafter the attachments 20 and the main body 10 can be disassembled.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the inserting plates 21 of each of theattachments 20 are respectively inserted into the guiding slots 11 ofthe corresponding one of the assembling portions of the main body 10,and the resilient tabs of the corresponding one of the assemblingportions are respectively latched into the latching openings 22 of theinserting plates 21. The receiving grooves 24 of the attachments 20respectively have the assembling portions of the main body 10 fitlyreceived therein, and the inserting plates 21 of each of the attachments20 are located opposite sides of the corresponding one of the assemblingportions. Consequently, the attachments 20 are latched onto the mainbody 10. The outer cover layer 30 is fitly abutting against theattachments 20 (as shown in FIG. 3) and covers the latching openings 22of the inserting plates 21 (as illustrated in FIG. 6).

In the present embodiment, the latching members 12 of one of theassembling portions and the inserting plates 21 of the corresponding oneof the attachments 20 cooperatively constitute a latch assembly. Thelatch assemblies each facilitate the attachments 20 to be latched ontothe main body 10. It is understood to the skilled person that otherwell-known or future developed latch assemblies are also acceptable, solong as it can allow the attachments to be latched onto the main body.In addition, the number of the attachments 20 of the handle structure100 is not limited to two, and may be only one according to a practicalrequirement; in this situation, one of the engaging arms 40 will engagedwith the corresponding assembling portion without the attachment 20intervening therebetween.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the handle structure 100 is installed on anobject by the engaging arms 40. The object may be a suitcase, a luggagedevice, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 8, in another present embodiment, each of theassembling portions of the main body 10 further includes a plurality of(e.g., two) trough limbs 13 formed in sidewalls of each of the guidingslots 11, and each of the inserting arms 21 correspondingly has aplurality of limbs 23 formed thereon and matable with the trough limbs13. When the attachments 20 are latched onto the main body 10, the limbs23 will be mated with and limited into the trough limbs 13, so that theoutward deformation of the inserting arms 21 can be effectivelysuppressed. As a result, the latching stability between the latchingmembers 12 and the latching openings 22 is enhanced and thus theengagement strength between the attachments 20 and the main body 10 isgreatly improved.

In summary, due to that the assembly for the attachments 20 and the mainbody 10 is carried out by allowing the attachments 20 to be insertedinto and latched onto the main body 10 and thus no need of the screw orrivet for assisting the assembly. Therefore, the drawbacks of the priorart are eliminated and the handle structure 100 would readily achieve asimple configuration as well as convenient assembly. Furthermore, theprovision of the outer cover layer 30 endows the handle structure 100with good hand feeling and grip comfort.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation.Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devisevariations that are within the scope and spirit of the inventiondisclosed herein, including configurations ways of the recessed portionsand materials and/or designs of the attaching structures. Further, thevarious features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone,or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to belimited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope ofthe claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.

1. A handle structure, comprising: a main body comprising an assemblingportion located at one end thereof; an attachment latched onto theassembling portion, wherein the assembling portion comprises a pluralityof latching members formed thereon, the attachment comprises a pluralityof inserting plates and each inserting plate has a latching openingformed thereon, the inserting plates are inserted into the assemblingportion and whereby the latching members are latched into the latchingopenings of the inserting plates, respectively; and an engaging armsengaged with the assembling portion, the attachment being locatedbetween the assembling portion and the engaging arm being engaged withthe assembling portion.
 2. The handle structure of claim 1, wherein theassembling portion further comprises a plurality of guiding slots, andthe inserting plates are inserted into the guiding slots.
 3. The handlestructure of claim 2, wherein the main body has an elongated shape, andthe guiding slots substantially extend along an axial direction of themain body.
 4. The handle structure of claim 2, wherein the latchingmembers are resilient tabs respectively outwardly extending from bottomwalls of the guiding slots, the assembling portion further comprises aplurality of unlatching grooves respectively formed in the bottom wallsof the guiding slots, and the unlatching grooves are adjacent to andmatched with the latching members.
 5. The handle structure of claim 4,wherein the latching members and the main body are integrally formed. 6.The handle structure of claim 4, wherein each of the latching openingsis a through hole.
 7. The handle structure of claim 4, wherein theassembling portion further comprises a plurality of trough limbs formedon sidewalls of each of the guiding slots, and each of the insertingplates correspondingly has a plurality of limbs formed thereon and matedwith the trough limbs.
 8. The handle structure of claim 1, wherein theattachment further comprises a receiving groove formed therein, theinserting plates are axially projected from the attachment, theassembling portion is fitly received into the receiving groove and theinserting plates are located opposite sides of the assembling portions.9. The handle structure of claim 1, wherein the attachment is selectedfrom a metal product and a plastic product.
 10. The handle structure ofclaim 1, further comprising an outer cover layer, the outer cover layercovering the main body and then the attachment fitly abutting againstthe outer cover.
 11. The handle structure of claim 1, further comprisinga cap disposed at a side of the engaging arm which faces away from themain body and capped on the engaging arm.